Monday, July 25, 2016

My 9 and 11-year-old boys were really excited to get a copy of the Minecrafters Bible so they've helped me with this review. The Minecrafters Bible consists of the full text of the NIrV translation and illustrations based on the Minecraft game. The NIrV is a "reader's version" of the NIV text that's geared toward a 3rd grade reading level. That doesn't mean you only find words and stories appropriate for a 8-9 year old, it means that they should be able to easily read most of the words and only need help with a few.

The pictures are not all truly Minecraft accurate as there are some rounded edges and features that you don't find in the game. (My guys gave a pass to this bit of artistic license.)

The guys like it for various reasons:

It gives you ideas for things to build in Minecraft. ("Time to play shepherd. Build a big animal pen, then go find a bunch of sheep and put them in your pen.")

It's not like some of their other kid's Bibles that only have selected stories. You get the whole Bible.

The illustrations are like a study Bible, but with something to build to go with the verses.

They set it aside for awhile and I thought that it had lost its luster, but my Middle Schooler has decided that he wants to take it with him to church camp as his Bible. Pretty cool.

Mom's take on it:

It's a timely tie-in to an activity that a lot of kids are interested in. Even if your kid doesn't play Minecraft, they can use this Bible. The Minecraft building ideas are a small part of the added content. Most of text on the picture pages involves reading a selected passage and then thinking or talking about it. In this way it's no different than many of the themed Bibles aimed at adults.

At 8.5"x5.5"x1.5"--It's a kid's sized Bible that they can comfortably carry around.

It's a good transition from a "kiddie" Bible that's heavily illustrated to a more difficult adult translation.

This might not satisfy older, more die-hard Minecraft fans, but it's great for the younger kids.

NIrV Minecrafters Bible

Zonderkidz

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in return for an honest review.

John 14:6 (NIV)

About Me

Karen Wilber lives in the Tampa Bay area with her husband and their two active boys. She is a former librarian, and corporate trainer, who now works as a reading teacher. She has a love of storytelling, particularly stories of faith.
Writing projects include "The Character of God in the Book of Ruth: Traditional Rabbinic and Current Evangelical Interpretations", completed for an MA in Biblical Studies from St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, an unpublished Bible study on the Book of Ruth, and various online and print magazine articles. She is a member of FaithWriters.